Chapter 8

We reached the vicinity of Lexington seven days after starting. The Rangers were able to find camp sites near good water on most of those days, as we followed Johns Creek and the Licking River for part of the time. There was only one night when we needed to make a dry camp. We had passed by, or crossed a number of creeks that day and the next, so there was no shortage of water. I had ridden with the lead element most of the time, but rode with the trailing element for two days leaving Seamus with the lead element. Later, he also rode with the trailing element for a couple of days.

When I joined the trailing element on the second day of the march, I found that the Drip Rock Militia had somehow made their way to the rear of the column, and were now marching just in front of the Rangers of the trailing element. Sergeant Mulligan was speaking to Jillian when I arrived.

"You don't have to worry about the Holy Spirit protecting you, little lady," he was saying. "We will be right here and keep you safe during the march." Jillian was smiling at his words.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, "but I'm here to protect you and all of the rest of those in the column." Sergeant Mulligan smiled at her, but didn't say anything, or look like he believed what Jill had told him.

"It looks like you have a group of admirers," I said to Jillian later that morning, as we rode together at the rear of the trailing element.

"Yes, it's very sweet of them to be worried about me, but I don't seem to be able to convince them that I don't need any protection," she told me in a slightly upset voice.

"You've handled things very well so far. Let them believe that they are looking out for you. It can't hurt, and it keeps them alert to what is going on. It gives us just that many more pairs of eyes looking for trouble, but don't lead them on," I advised her.

"No, I wouldn't do that. They have been very nice to me and considerate also," Jill answered with a smile. Mulligan and his unit remained at the rear of the column and near Jillian, all the way to Lexington.

I had been expecting the militia men to begin dropping out of the column when they neared their homes on the way back, but all of them remained with the march until we reached Lexington. It was explained to me one evening on the march, that they were remaining because they would be paid in hard money rather than script in Lexington. Hard money was greatly prized in the back country and rural settlements.

We passed near a number of settlements on the march, and I noticed that the militia units would send people into some of the settlements to arrange for food and other items when we passed these often small and crude settlements.

The Rangers sent people out to hunt deer before we stopped to camp each night. Each evening they would bring in four or five deer carcasses which were divided and issued to the various units that evening to supplement their usual rations. The hides were dealt with as best they could be and often traded to people in a settlement that we passed the next day.

As we approached Lexington, the settlements and farms grew larger and much more impressive. Everyone's spirits improved, but there was less hunting possible.

Our column didn't go into Lexington itself. Several miles outside of Lexington, and to the southeast of the city is Fort Henry, where we ended our march. Named for Patrick Henry, the Virginia patriot, the fort was located on 640 acres, or about one section of land. The fort itself is some 400 feet square, with blockhouses at each corner. The main entrance is on the west side, facing toward Lexington. The stockade of squared logs is some twenty feet tall, and there are walkways near the top. The blockhouses are two stories tall and have firing ports. There is also a blockhouse that surrounds the main gate at the center of the west wall.

The area around the fort was fairly level, and consisted of open fields with scattered groups of trees. Hickman Creek and its various branches run through the area, plus there are two wells located inside the fort. There are a number of barracks for the Regular Army soldiers, and a small parade ground in the fort. The militia units, and any Regular Army units passing through the area, are expected to live in tents outside the walls of the fort during peacetime.

I and all of my people were riding with the Rangers in the lead element on this last day of the march, as there was little likelihood of an attack from the rear, or any other direction, this close to Lexington. We had all dismounted and stood with the Rangers watching the first elements of the column arrive at the fort. General Sullivan and his staff were in the lead with the Regular Army units, the Continentals, marching behind them. The militia units were behind the Regular Army units, but were rather strung out and not very impressive in their ragged formations. They were directed where to put up their camps by people from the fort, and didn't enter it. They were followed by the supply train.

I had a number of questions on my mind that I hadn't been able to get satisfactory answers to on our march here. The most important one was where my people were going to be quartered here, and where our horses would be kept. We had become quite attached to them on the way here, plus our Mage Sisters weren't about to let the pregnant mare out of their sight. A messenger arrived from General Sullivan, and another from Colonel Williams shortly after they arrived at the fort. I was well known to their messengers by now.

"Captain O'Connell," the young messenger said after saluting when he arrived, "General Sullivan sends his compliments, sir, and asks that you join him at his Headquarters building in the fort this afternoon at 3:00 for a meeting with General Clark."

"You may inform the General that I will be pleased to be there," I told the young man.

"He also said, sir, that you could bring your Second-in-Command, if you so wished," the young messenger told me.

"Thank you. You may inform the General that I will bring him with me," I told him before he saluted and hurried off with my answer. A short time later, the second messenger arrived.

"Sir, Colonel Williams requests that you join him at General Sullivan's Headquarters, so he can arrange for quarters for you and your people. He also said that he will send you to see about getting uniforms," this young man told me. That at least answered one of my questions.

"I will return with you in just a minute," I told the messenger before turning to my relatives.

"Seamus, take charge while I'm gone. Keep everyone here until we find out where we will be quartered. I'll take Gwyn with me in case there are things for the Quartermaster to take care of," I told him and the others. Gwyn and I then followed the messenger over to and then through the very busy gates of the fort.

Fort Henry was presently a very busy and confused place with all of the arriving units of soldiers being inspected and turning in their muskets before being dismissed to their quarters after details were assigned. There were also a number of wagons from the supply train that had begun to arrive to contest for space with the soldiers. These would eventually need to be unloaded.

The young messenger led us through all of this confusion to a small one story building at the far end of the fort. A wagon was already being unloaded here and the contents carried inside. Colonel Williams met us after we entered, and took Gwyn and me over to a small office.

"Come in and have a seat, Captain," he invited, and brought out another chair for Gwyn to sit on.

"I need to know how many rooms you will need for your officers. Things are a bit crowded at present, so the minimum that you can get by with is what I need to know," he told us after we were all seated.

"If the rooms are large enough for two, we would need seven rooms for the women. They are all twins, and have always roomed together. We can get by with two rooms for the men and me," I told him.

"As the Commander, you would have a room of your own, and I am sure that I can get two rooms for your other men," he told us, but paused there. "The seven rooms for the women present a problem, as these quarters are all designed for men, and not women. There are no separate 'facilities' for women," he finished, somewhat embarrassed.

"Rest assured, Colonel," Gwyn told him with a smile, "That we can create the necessary privacy with our wards, and that there won't be a problem."

"Thank you," the Colonel said, relieved but still a little embarrassed by the need to bring up the subject.

"The next item is uniforms," he told us more confidently. "Now that we are back at the fort, you and your people will need to acquire and wear the proper uniform with your ranks on them. There is a tailor here who can supply you with uniforms. However, Officers are required to pay for their own uniforms. Will you and your men be able to do that? Some credit can be arranged if necessary," he finished a little uncomfortably.

"We have some gold with us to pay for things," I told him, much to his delight.

"Hard money will get you things very quickly," he assured us before turning serious again. "However, there is no such thing as a uniform for female officers, because there have never been any female officers before," he finished with a frown.

"Don't worry, Colonel," Gwyn told him with a broad smile. "My Sisters and I have seen the uniforms that your officers wear, and we can create one to match it for ladies, that will be tasteful and appropriate."

"I'll have one of my Sergeants show you where the tailor's shop is," Colonel Williams told us before calling in one of his Sergeants and instructing him to escort us to the tailor shop. We departed after that.

On exiting the building, it was apparent that things had settled down a bit. There were still wagons waiting to be unloaded on the roads near the stockade where the warehouses, stables, and the shops of the fort's blacksmith, carpenter, mason, and armorer were located. Nearer the front gate were the sutlers' stores. There were shops selling various items that the soldiers would need. One was the tailor shop. The Sergeant left us at the door of the shop.

"Just a minute, Mark," Gwyn told me before we had entered the shop. "We should have Sererena here. She is the clothing designer in the family."

"Okay. Do you want to get her?" I asked.

"Yes," Gwyn announced and promptly vanished, while I waited outside the store. Gwyn and Sererena soon appeared next to me along with Seamus.

"Who did you leave in charge?" I asked him.

"Glanda and Saraid," he told me with a smile.

"Those two should be able to control the others," I admitted before adding, "Let's go in and see what they have."

"Good day Gentlemen ... and ladies!" the proprietor said as we entered. "How can we help you?"

"We need to obtain uniforms for myself and my Cousin for a meeting with General Clark this afternoon," I told him pointing to Seamus.

"I don't know if I have anything on hand that will fit the two of you, Lieutenant," the proprietor told us.

"I'm a Captain, and my Cousin is my Senior Lieutenant," I informed him, and showed him my commission from General Sullivan.

"Yes, certainly, Captain. That doesn't alter the fact that I may not be able to fit either of you today," he said in a disparaging voice.

"I believe that we can make do with whatever you have," I told him, allowing him to see the two gold coins that I had in my hand. It was easy to see that he was surprised, by his intake of breath.

"Perhaps I can find something that you would look presentable in," he told us after that, in a much more friendly voice. He then proceeded to bring out what constituted the uniform worn by the Regular Army here in Kentucky.

This consisted of white knee length breeches along with white knee length stockings. The breeches had no provision for a belt, but had an arrangement in the back for making them tight enough to fit the wearer. Next there was a white long sleeved pull over shirt with ruffles down the front opening and fancy cuffs, plus a white waistcoat, or vest that was sleeveless. The outer garment was a long dark blue coat that came to just above the knees. The large lapels were faced and the coat lined with white cloth. There were numerous pewter buttons that secured the wide white-faced lapels in place on the front of the coat, and also at the long cuffs on the sleeves. They also allowed the lapels to be tightly closed in cold weather. The coat was split in the back up to about one's waist level and there was a button near the bottom of the coat to allow the lower part of both the front and back to be turned back and buttoned out of the way. There were also large flap covered and buttoned pockets on each side of the coat. For the head there was a tricorne, or three cornered cocked hat, with white trim around the edges.